Old Folding Maps - London Triptych Vintage Map Framed Print, 63 x 127cm

A framed reproduction in triptych by the Old Folding Maps company, based on a London map first published in Cassell’s Complete Atlas in 1863. This version is framed under glass in a traditional style black and antique gold frame. The map has been hand laid down in the traditional way on 100 per cent natural cotton cloth.

Maps of the 18th and 19th centuries are often hand-coloured but these colours are fugitive and will fade quite quickly when exposed to light. This map is printed with pigment inks that are lightfast but nevertheless, try and avoid hanging it in direct sunlight and keep it away from heat.

Paper maps are delicate, travellers from Georgian times and before would have to protect their maps from all the dangers they faced on the open road. The maps were also expensive and often used in very cold and damp conditions. Constant opening and closing would cause a paper map to soon disintegrate. To avoid this fate, the map would be dissected and strengthened by laying it on cloth. Despite these efforts, few survived to the present day. Original maps are now extremely scarce.

This famous map of London was originally published in nine separate sheets and issued as a supplement with the Weekly Dispatch in 1861/62. When published in Cassell’s Complete Atlas in 1863, Cassell claimed it to be the best map of London ever produced. The map was engraved by Edward Weller (1819—1884) who was the nephew of another famous cartographer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Sidney Hall.

Have you thought about hooks and fittings?